Linda Gail Lewis may share top billing on Wild! Wild! Wild! with Robbie Fulks, but she's not playing second fiddle to anyone; they both deliver the goods here, and if you don't believe a 71-year-old woman can make a great rock & roll record, this album will show just how wrong you are.

There's a good chance we're going to get a full-on rock album from Jennings now that he's gotten this out of his system, but as an expression of his country soul, Shooter ranks with his best work to date.

While much of his work seems deliberately, painstakingly crafted, there's still a fluidity and a sense of being guided by subconscious forces.

With Animals is the work of two men with great talent embracing what they do best, and with their skills elevating their work to a new level; this is collaboration between musical peers at its best.

For Interpol, embracing their veteran status doesn't mean a slide into complacency; if anything, it's the opposite. Marauder doesn't need to be qualified in terms of the band's former successes--on its own terms, it's one of the richest albums of Interpol's career.

Equal parts mesmerizing and challenging, Rockhounds has a truly unique allure.

Because of its variety of rhythms, infectious energy, and limited track lengths, Angry Cyclist's thirteen tracks go by quickly. That, taken together with lyrics that are both playful and pointed, consistently strong melodies, and exuberant performances make it the type of album that would fun see performed live in full, and one of their best.

His most refined batch of animated pop yet. He triangulates somewhere between Ben Folds and Charlie Puth, albeit with eccentricity to spare and a better feel for the funk than either musician.

At less than 32 minutes, Back Being Blue doesn't last long enough to wear out its welcome, but it could run twice as long and still be a treat; it's an easygoing but richly satisfying release from an artist who shares her talents all too rarely.

Out of the Blues may be an excellent final chapter in this roots trilogy, but stands on its own as one of Scaggs' most sure-footed releases.

An album that coheres in a way other Ariana Grande albums don't, which means Sweetener is something of a double triumph: she's come through a tough time stronger and better than before.

Once the shock of the bigger, bolder sound fades, Chains Are Broken reveals itself as a perhaps inevitable maturation for the Devil Makes Three, one that broadens their horizons while retaining their vigor, humor, and heart.

It's too bad more personal tragedy is what it took to right the ship, but Nothing's third album is a worthy successor to their great debut.

Maintaining a healthy balance of sunshine and rain, Don't Look Away is the best example yet of Tucker's singular approach to music.

The Necks move incrementally forward in their quest for the musical unknown on Body; it displays all their creative strengths in a single typically engrossing work.

Exploring both their known, time-honored chemistry and new inspirations, the vibe that stretches across Songs You Make at Night feels positive and renewed. Always caught in a dream, this is one of the brighter and more hopeful dreamscapes in the Tunng catalog.

This is music made from a band that has been through the wringer and is happy to settle down and play, and there's an undeniable appeal to that open heart, particularly when it's camouflaged underneath such nominally heavy music.

Ohmme are clearly not adverse to inspired noise, but they know how to put it in a context where it doesn't grate so much as it adds zest, like a good pepper sauce, and on Parts they've made an album that's smart, sweet, and full of potent flavor.

Hunter is the record where, more than any other, Calvi's talents have fully crystallized. The true character of her music has been unleashed and will likely see all those PJ Harvey comparisons finally fade, eclipsed by the radiance of this tough yet open-hearted work.

Indigo is another block in the impressive body of work Tatum has built over the decade, and it's some of the best retro '80s (but not stuck in the past) music anyone is making in the 2010s.

Dissolution is the album The Pineapple Thief have been promising since 2012's All the Wars: it's poetic, erudite, emotionally powerful, and chock-full of musical imagination.

At a taut ten tracks, Bloom is an unambiguous statement from Sivan, clear in its intent to celebrate the highs and lows of queer love through the eyes of a proud pop star in the making.

KEN mode are masters of their craft, and this is easily the equal of anything from the heyday of the genre on labels like AmRep and Hydra Head. While the more casual listener will find this heavy going, fans of the band, and of noise rock in general, are going to be stoked.

In full, And Nothing Hurt stands alongside the very best outings on the Spiritualized shelf. Its finest moments are consequently its most tender, revealing how much Pierce has grown as a writer. If he continues to record, this will be the album that opens a vibrant new chapter in the saga of Spiritualized.

Landes is ready and willing to create her own spin on classic country, winding up with a generous and clever gem.

Carefully considered and uniquely transportive, The Giant Who Ate Himself is yet another sterling example of Jones' guitar mastery.

The album is their most sonically focused statement yet, primarily consisting of lengthy dirges with up-front growled lyrics that challenge concepts of ego and identity.

Menace Beach have shown a lot of creative growth in their relatively short existence, constantly homing in on their essential elements and discarding the rest with each new release.